The Seward Highway reopened Monday morning following a lengthy closure south of Girdwood after a semi slid into a pond late Sunday, Anchorage police said.
The road was closed at Mile 83, between Girdwood and the Portage cutoff, so a tow truck could remove the semi, police said. The closure was announced around 5 a.m. and police said the road reopened in both directions just after 10 a.m.
A semi went into the water at an area north of Portage around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Girdwood Fire Department Chief Michelle Weston. Fire crews helped the driver, who was not injured, out of the cab, Weston said.
Girdwood and surrounding areas received rain on top of icy roads Sunday night, she said. Other vehicles were sliding off the road as well.
The semi is the second to go off the highway into water near Portage in the past year. In September, a truck traveling the Seward Highway in bad weather left the road and ended up in Turnagain Arm. The driver was rescued and treated for injuries described as not life-threatening. The truck was recovered.